It’s tough to dispute Lucid’s status as a leader in EV tech. The startup’s Air sedan goes well over 500 miles on a full charge, farther than any other electric car on sale here. The car is wildly efficient and strikingly designed to boot. But one thing the company has had trouble with thus far is making money.
Lucid hopes that some new products in the pipeline will change that. The Gravity, a full-size SUV, enters production later this year and should open Lucid up to a vast new customer base. After that, the plan is to release a lower-priced, smaller vehicle that will help the company, as CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson puts it, achieve “escape velocity.”
Success in the EV business is all about scale. If you can sell a ton of cars, you can bring down costs and boost revenue enough to start turning a profit. The Air is an extraordinary product, but Lucid only managed to sell 6,001 of them last year. An expensive, large sedan has limited appeal and just can’t fuel the kind of growth Lucid needs.
Lucid’s future rides on what it calls its midsize vehicle. Here’s what we know about the EV so far.
What Do We Know About Lucid's Midsize EV?
To be frank, Lucid hasn’t revealed a whole lot about its next act. But we know a few things already. Lucid’s midsize vehicle will take the form of a crossover SUV. That much is clear from shrouded photos of the model. And that’s a smart move, given America’s appetite for crossovers has gone bananas.
The midsize platform won’t just be for one lonely crossover, however. Rather, it will underpin a minimum of three distinct models, Derek Jenkins, the startup’s design chief told InsideEVs during a visit to Lucid’s headquarters. There, we saw two shrouded clay models of future midsize vehicles, one of which had rugged, knobby tires peeking out.
What Will The Next Lucid Be Called?
We don’t know for sure. Here’s a potential hint: Lucid has trademarked the name “Lucid Earth.” That would fit well with the company's existing "Gravity" and "Air" nameplates.
How Much Will It Cost?
Rawlinson has said the midsize Lucid will cost around $48,000. For comparison, the Air Pure starts at $69,900, while the Gravity is set to start somewhere around $80,000. So the midsize vehicle should open up Lucid to a more price-sensitive segment of buyers.
However, there’s a good chance that the entry-level variant won’t be available immediately upon the vehicle’s launch. That tends to be how it goes with new EV launches, including the Air.
What About Efficiency And Range?
Energy efficiency isn’t the sexiest thing to think about, but it is a core part of the way Lucid designs its vehicles. The midsize vehicle will be no exception.
“I’m confident that we can achieve unrivaled levels of efficiency for this crucial midsize-class vehicle,” Rawlinson said on a recent earnings call. He’s said time and time again that cutting down battery sizes is the key to lower input costs and higher profits.
To be competitive, the vehicle would need to deliver at least 300 miles of range. A focus on efficiency should help.
When Will Lucid's Midsize SUV Go On Sale?
Lucid says it will start production of the new model in late 2026, so we’d expect wider availability sometime in early 2027 if all goes according to plan. By then, it will compete with fellow startup Rivian's R2 SUV.
Contact the author: tim.levin@insideevs.com
